


An Honest First Try

by mcschnuggles



Series: Dad Mode Activated [2]
Category: Dream Daddy: A Dad Dating Simulator
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, Caregiver!Robert, Gen, Light Angst, Non-Sexual Age Play, Regressing!Mat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-10
Updated: 2018-09-10
Packaged: 2019-07-07 19:31:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15914811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mcschnuggles/pseuds/mcschnuggles
Summary: Robert's taking care of Matty by himself for the first time. Unfortunately, his fears get the better of him.





	An Honest First Try

               Robert is in over his head.

               He realizes this the second he’s alone with Matty, and frankly, he’s terrified. Why did he agree to this?

               Matty shuffles over to the couch, where he’s greeted by Betsy. She’s always liked him, but she seems a little more protective of him now that he’s little.

               Robert’s mind immediately goes to Val. He can remember, vaguely, when she was younger, curled up on a couch that was different but similar in a way. Petting a different dog, an old German Shepherd. He remembers more than once shuffling in drunk, her crying and clinging to the dog like it’s all she has left.

               Maybe he can’t do this after all.

               He tries anyway. “You wanna watch a movie, kiddo?”

               Matty nods.

               “What do you want to watch?”

               Matty pauses to think for a moment. “Something with dogs.”

               Robert chuckles. “I’ll see what I can do.”

               He flips through his movie collection. He’d found out about Matty’s situation about a week ago, and since then he’s been working to get everything Matty could possibly need to feel comfortable. The DVD section of Goodwill, specifically the dog movies, didn’t survive his raid.

               “Whatcha thinking, then? _Homeward Bound_? _Lady and the Tramp_? _101 Dalmatians_?”

               “Dalmatians, please.”

               “Dalmatians it is.”

               Robert pops in the DVD and goes to sit on the couch. It’s almost instinctive for him to sit beside Matty and wrap an arm around him, but he stops himself at the last second. Once again, he thinks of Val and the last time they’d watched a movie together, how she’d glared at him and shrugged away his hand.

               The last thing he wants to do is make Matty that uncomfortable, so he puts a respectable distance between them.

               Matty doesn’t seem to mind, absently petting at Betsy’s head while he watches the movie.

               Robert slips away within the first half hour. As fond as he is of the Dalmatians, he might as well get some more chores done. With how much work he’d had to do to make the house suitable for Matty, it looked like an entirely different house. But in between cleaning up trash, putting away the alcohol, and purging the fabrics of the lingering stench of cigarette smoke, he hadn’t had time to do the dishes.

               He remembers Val used to hate it, because the dishes would never stay clean. She’d take two hours to do the dishes, and by the time she turned her back, he’d have made a new mess. He remembers getting on her case about it more than once. He remembers her crying. He remembers her being fourteen.

               He’s halfway through the dishes when he senses something is off.

               He glances back toward the living room. The movie is still playing, and Matty’s still on the couch. What gives it away is Betsy. She’s used to watching her humans have mental breakdowns at this point, so she has a tell. Her little paw rests on his knee.

               “Kiddo?” Robert walks gingerly. Once he gets close enough, he realizes that Matty is crying. “What’s wrong?”

               Matty instantly shakes his head. “I’m fine.”

               “I don’t quite believe that.” Robert replies. “Talk to me.”

               Matty shakes his head again. “It’s nothing.”

               “It’s not nothing if it’s upsetting you.” Robert glances at Betsy and has a sudden idea. “If you can’t tell me, can you at least tell Betsy?”

               Reminded of the little dog, Matty goes back to petting her. “I feel like maybe you don’t want me to be here?” Poor thing even phrases his fears like he’s scared of being wrong.

               He remembers Val saying something similar, only a little angrier. She said he was beyond help, that he didn’t care about anything but the booze. She was right. “What makes you think that?”

               Matty shrugs. “I don’t know.” He focused on petting Betsy’s head for a long while. “Hugo always cuddles with me.”

               Robert kicks himself. He’s been so scared of messing up that he invented a whole new method of messing up. At this point, he should be eligible for Fuck Up of the Year Award.

               “I’m sorry, Matty. I know this whole relationship is new and I wanted to give you some space. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

               “It’s okay. I know my anxiety gets the better of me and I jump to conclusions.”

               “Doesn’t mean you have to suffer through it. I promise I’ll do everything I can to help make things easier on you.” Robert dares to scoot a little closer, closing some of the space between them. “So you like to cuddle?”

               Matty nods. “Most of the time. Like when I’m watching movies. But not when I’m having a panic attack or need some quiet time.”

               “Easy enough to remember. I’ll be sure to check up on you a lot. Is that okay?”

               Matty nods, grinning wider as Betsy climbs into his lap and gets cozy. “That sounds good.”

               Robert stretches his arm around Matty’s shoulder, relieved to feel the smaller boy snuggle against his shoulder.

**Author's Note:**

> mcschnuggles.tumblr.com


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